


Careful what you wish for

by Wixiany



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DCU, Justice League (2017), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Romance, Crushes, F/M, Fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-03-29 04:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13919490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wixiany/pseuds/Wixiany
Summary: A series of ten short stories depicting a life of Bailey Matthews, starting with a wish.





	1. A Coin in the Fountain

Bailey pulled few coins from her pocket, took one and put the rest back. She flipped it in her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. She had never been a one to believe in superstitions but who knew, maybe it would work. This time anyway. 

She threw the coin into the fountain where it disappeared in the mix of silver and brown. She couldn't tell which one was hers. It didn't really matter, the important part was her wish. 

'I wish my life wasn't so boring.' That was it. The whole wish. It sounded kind of stupid compared to what other people probably wished for. Love, health, money. All she wanted was some excitement. Anything, really. She was quite desperate. Throwing a coin into the fountain was desperate, at least in her opinion. It wasn't even like she believed in that stuff. 

Bailey left the park with her feelings in turmoil. She was adamant on not believing in luck and wishes and yet she still wasted money in the fountain, no matter how little. She was acting ridiculous. She shook her head at herself and continued her daily walk to her job.

The public library was open from early morning and it was Bailey who unlocked the door every day. It was quite a responsibility but she felt proud that they had entrusted her with such a task. It was something - something that made her feel like she was important. At least for the students and early birds who had been stepping in front of the entrance long before she got there. 

She had been sitting by the desk all day, no change there. Every single day did she sit there and registered books or answered questions about available books. The most exciting part of her day was when a child got lost and his mother asked for help. It took her barely five minutes to find the kid. Finding a crying child in a considerably quiet library wasn't all that challenging. But of course, the mother was probably scared and in shock, deprived of all rational thinking. 

If anyone had asked her why she would wish for a more adventurous life, she would use her day as an example. Work and then when she got home, Bailey watched some cooking show and that was it. Was life supposed to be just that? Work for probably the lowest salary there was, come home to rest, only to end up doing nothing worthwhile? Not according to Bailey, but daydreaming about a different life wasn't the same as actually living a different life.

At the end of the day, when she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, Bailey was almost ashamed of herself. She was a healthy person, a capable one, but nonetheless, she had achieved nothing. Maybe it was her own fault or a lack of opportunities, still, her life remained disappointing to the point of literally hoping a coin in a fountain would help.


	2. Change of plans

"What do you mean you can't work tonight? Seriously Anne? You can't do this to me again," Bailey pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Her shift at the library was almost over when her phone started to ring. It was Anne, a student who worked in the library part-time alongside her. 

"Don't be like that, girl. I got an important exam, it's not an excuse."

Bailey rolled her eyes and muttered: "This time..."

"Please, Bailey, I'm begging you! It's not like you have other plans for the night..." Anne said matter-of-factly.

"What does that have to do with anything? I could have plans for tonight. I do actually go out. Sometimes." It sounded wrong even to Bailey herself. Of course she wouldn't go anywhere. Her family lived far away from the big city, her high school friends stayed in her hometown and since she moved here, she had to find apartment, then work and somehow she hadn't found the time to make new friends. 

"Bailey, c'mon, just this once," Anne continued with the persuasion.

"Jesus, okay, fine, but you owe me," she said with a defeated sigh. Anne thanked her, promised to do anything for her and hang up. With another sigh, Bailey stood up to get herself a cup of coffee. She would need it for the next few hours.

Poor Anne. The evening shift was even worse than hers. At some point, Bailey started counting the number of people that came through the main door. She had counted them all on her two hands, no more. She was glad it was finally the end, although there wasn't much to look forward to. Few hours of sleep and then she would be back in the library, working her usual shift. Thanks for that, Anne, she couldn't stop the bitter feeling.

As she opened the door, Bailey was met with a dark sky, well as much as she could see through the high buildings. It was strange exiting the library at this hour. The city was full of life and yet the streets weren't crowded. It was almost refreshing to walk along the street without accidentally shoving someone.

She pulled the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and took off. There was a comfortable and warm bed waiting for her at home. She could already imagine stripping the tight jeans and replacing it with cotton pajamas. If only her place was closer.

She knew the way to her apartment by heart and yet everything seemed different in the dark. It wasn't different in a good way. 

"Hey, you!" Bailey spun around to face whoever was shouting, although she wasn't sure the words were aimed at her. She shouldn't have turned. A man with dark face and long greasy hair was approaching her. She quickly looked from side to side, but it was only her and the man. God.

"Give me your wallet!"

Bailey's hands trembled as she quickly rummaged through her bag. She outstretched her hand with a pretty colorful wallet in it. The man took it, opening it in a swift move like he had done it before. 

"That's it, bitch? Where's your money?" he screamed at her.

"I- I- That's all I've got, sorry." Bailey took a cautious step back. Her eyes welled up and even though the man held no weapon she feared for her life. She started praying to anybody that could help. There were those who had the power, so why was no one there?

With a scream, the man threw himself at her in a blind fit of rage. Bailey yelled in pain as he hit her face. He kicked her stomach several times before freezing and looking up. He then run away with what little money she had. 

She didn't know nor cared what drove him away. After she regained her breath and the pain in her side subsided, Bailey picked herself up and hurried home. In a city of superheros not a single one helped her and that was actually worse than getting mugged. It felt like she wasn't important enough to be saved. Like her life wasn't worth saving. The man hadn't only taken her hard-earned money, he had robbed her of what little confidence she had in herself.


	3. Regret

Her bruises healed without anyone even noticing they were there. There was no one that cared enough to notice. That hurt more than anything. Since that night, Bailey refused to take her friend's night shift and even if she did, she called a cab instead of walking. Her life went on.

Another boring day in the library. 

She still disliked the idea of wasting her life, doing a monotonous job, but after a little consideration, it sounded better than getting mugged. She wanted some excitement in her life, but that wasn't what she imagined. That was very, very far from what she had in mind when she threw that coin into the fountain. Maybe an adventurous life wasn't for her, maybe she was one of those people destined to live day by day, who achieved almost nothing and were merely surviving.

She glanced at the fiction section of the library, so many adventures there. Adventures that she would never get a taste of. Her eyes moved to the magazine stand by the door, another type of adventure. She would never be rich or superpowered. She would always stay ordinary and so would her boring life.


	4. Born to be embarrassed

The sun shone bright, its beams reflecting on the tall buildings of the city. Bailey stopped in her tracks to admire the beautiful weather. It had been quite some time since it was so nice outside. She missed the mornings when the rays of sunlight would wake her up.

Standing in the middle of the busy street wasn't probably the best idea. People could always walk past her but not all of them cared enough. A woman yelled at her some obscenity after Bailey suddenly stopped and caused the woman to run into her because she was on her phone and not paying attention. 

Few seconds later, Bailey was done observing the play of light on the vast number of windows and moved, she still had a work to get to. In the instant her leg made the first step forward, her breath was knocked out of her. Someone collided with her.

"What the-" Bailey muttered as she took a deep breath in. She was enveloped in a thigh hug.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, miss... you just... moved so suddenly," a man exclaimed. Bailey had a hard time understanding him for he was speaking too fast. She realized that without him holding her, she would probably tumble into the ground from the force of their collision.

She looked up into his face for the first time. Her savior and attacker at the same time, stared at her with his beautiful brown eyes. She quickly scanned his whole face, before he had the time to let her go and leave. His black hair and sharp features were stunning. He was stunning. Bailey internally groaned as she could physically feel the crush coming. She would most likely never see him again.

"Call me Bai," she said without really thinking. Anna sometimes called her that, it was nice. 

The man blushed crimson red. Bailey wondered why, but she quickly figured it out. The nickname sounded identical to 'bae'. It was Bailey who turned red this time. "Or Bailey! Bailey is fine."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Bailey wouldn't let him. No matter what he was gonna say, she wouldn't be able to handle that much of an embarrassment and so she bailed. "Uh, sorry, I gotta get to work."

He dropped his hands from her back, releasing her. Bailey almost forgot they were touching. She almost sprinted towards the library, turning back only once. When she did, though, she could still see him there with a confused look on his face and eyes trained on her. She tripped since she wasn't looking in front of herself, but she caught herself. The man's hand twitched as if he saw what happened and wanted to catch her again. Bailey's cheeks reddened again. As if she hadn't embarrassed herself enough in front of that attractive guy in a hoodie. She hadn't turned to look back at him again.


	5. A small dose of excitement

Daydreaming. So much daydreaming. The stuff she came up with was straight out of all those romantic novels in the far away shelves. She imagined the cute dark-haired man knocking into her again and slipping a note into her pocket so that she could call him anytime. 

She imagined buying a coffee when suddenly someone behind her told the barista he would pay for that and Bailey would turn around with an almost embarrassingly big smile only to find out it was the man with the brown eyes. He would smile down at her and offer to spend the evening together.

"So do you have it?"

"What?" Bailey's musings were interrupted. There was an older lady staring at her angrily through the thick glasses. "Could you repeat that, please?"

The woman muttered something under her breath, Bailey assumed it was about the ignorant youth or along those lines. At the end, she told Bailey the name of the author and Bailey sent her to the right library section. Her life went on.

As the weeks went by and the stranger never showed up again in her life, Bailey started to daydream less. The crush no longer brought butterflies to her stomach, her head didn't spin with all the possible scenarios, no, it hurt now. It just reminded her of what she didn't have. No one to call and tell about her day, even if nothing much happened. No one to come knocking at her apartment door with take-out and dvds. 

It was nice while it lasted. Every morning she had woken up full of excitement, maybe she would meet him on her way to work again. She never did and the excitement turned to bitter realization. Her hope of ever meeting him again died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, a ship name... I haven't really thought of that. What about Mallen? I will let you decide.


	6. Robbery gone wrong

"That's in Gotham, Anne! You can't be serious!" Bailey stared at her friend with her mouth hanging open. 

"I am! Do you know how many famous authors are gonna be there?"

"Yeah, and Bruce Wayne," Bailey said, unconvinced by the idea to go the book conference in Gotham. It was a great opportunity and she could see so much there, but it was just so ... random.

"That has nothing to do with it. Bailey, we gotta go, please!" she begged. "None of my friends want to go. Books are boring, they all say. But not you, Bailey please."

"But who will cover you the whole weekend when I can't? And we would have to find a hotel and bus," Bailey started listing all the stuff they would have to do before leaving but Anne interrupted her.

"I got it all planned! The manager said he can find a replacement, one weekend is not that long and I have a cousin in the city, she has to work but she said we can crash at her place for the night. And finding the bus is the easiest one, they go almost every hour."

Bailey patiently waited for her to finish. She really had it all planned out and with everything covered, there was no excuse not to go. She had to agree.

The book conference was everything she hoped it would be. The library was crowded but she got to meet few of her favorite authors, even got them to sign a piece of paper she had thrown in her bag. She was glad she had agreed to go. Finally something was happening, even if she was still in a library, just a different one. The secret was in the small steps. One at the time. 

Bailey rolled her eyes as she walked to the store. Anne, as she always did, begged her to go buy some snacks for the way home since she wasn't yet packed. She wouldn't be that annoyed if she was back in their city but here in Gotham she was bound to get lost. 

As she walked, Bailey recited the street names in her head. She wouldn't recall them later but at least she felt like she was doing something in order not to get lost. Once she did lose her way, she could tell herself that she had tried. The growing number of police sirens that echoed didn't catch her attention. 

"... Birch, Kingston, Sterli-" Bailey was mumbling to herself before a rough hand spun her around and held her tightly around her chest. She shut up as soon as the cool feeling of metal against her neck registered in her mind. 

"Out of my way! Get out!" A man screamed from behind her shoulder. All she could do was stay as stiff as she could and hold back the tears as the man nudged her forward. She was thrown into a van just outside of the back entrance of the bank while the police officers watched. There was nothing they could do when she was in the way. 

"Please-"

"Shut up!" the man silenced her. She would beg for her life, tell him she wasn't gonna say anything, if only he would let her go, but the man was in no mood for the talk and she wasn't brave enough to speak up again or do something to save herself. 

The wheels of the van screeched and it came to a sudden stop. Bailey was painfully thrown against the side, but her small injury was nothing compared to the driver. There was blood all over the window but he appeared conscious. 

The man turned to her but before he had the chance to say anything, the door of the car was forcefully opened and he was snatched from inside. Bailey stared with her eyes wide opened. She didn't have to guess what got a hold of the man. Not long after, the back doors of the van opened and in them stood no one else than the Batman himself. 

"You're safe now. The man's been dealt with," he said in a deep voice. Bailey merely nodded but made no move to stand up.

He approached her and outstretched his hand. She took it gingerly, still in a shock. "It's alright."

As he helped her out of the van, Bailey noticed the police cars around them. How hadn't she heard them before? The man was arrested and in the back of one of them. A medic came rushing to her, asking her what hurt, but Bailey turned around to see where was Batman. He had disappeared.


	7. Take it back

Why was she so stupid? Wishing for adventure, adrenaline, she was stupid, asking for something she couldn’t handle. Bailey wasn’t made for adventure and danger that accompanied it. She was just human, an average human, nothing more. It wasn’t a life she could lead.

Was it possible to take back a wish? Not just to swear and cuss and regret that she ever wished for her life to change in the first place, but to actually take it back? She would never say it out loud because she wasn’t superstitious or crazy or anything, she was just average Bailey, but with every passing day, it seemed like her wish was truly turning into reality and she had some big regrets. This, the attacks and mugging and whatever wasn’t what she had in mind, she meant something like meeting than cute man but with less embarrassment, only that didn’t last long since one meeting wasn’t exactly a base for a real relationship.

Her life was a mess. 

She was a mess.

Back to the wish, Bailey couldn’t get it out of her head. If it was coming true then it could be taken back, like literally? Maybe if she got back the coin, but then again how would she know which one was hers? She could take them all. Bailey laughed at the idea, that was exactly the kind of excitement she was getting but didn’t want. She could lament that it wasn’t what she asked for but she did. She should have been more specific.

Praying seemed like the last resort. Praying that her life would return to normal. It was disappointing, boring, tedious, so many things, yes, but it was safe. She just wanted to be safe again.


	8. Things you learn

“So tell me again, why do I need to go with you?” Bailey said, the annoyance obvious in her voice. Anne was making her go out with her but Bailey had little to no will to actually accompany her friend to a bar. 

With a roll of her eyes Anne answered: “Because, my obnoxious sister is coming for a visit and I need a moral support. Besides, you already promised to go, you can’t take it back now.”

“Ugh, fine, but you owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Bai, you always say that.” 

Bailey was the one who did an epic eye-roll at that remark and shuffled behind the counter, out of the customers’ sight. There was still about half an hour left in Anne’s shift and since Bailey had nothing to do at home, she decided to come earlier while it was still light outside. She grew a little paranoid lately. 

She was just about to start reading some random book when a loud crash echoed from the left of the library. Bailey immediately froze, thinking of the worst case scenarios but then she heard it, heard him.

“Sorry,” he yelled quickly which only got him several disapproving looks, after all this still was a library. “Sorry,” he said again, this time barely a whisper.

Bailey watched him with her mouth wide open. He was picking up books and pens from the floor and yet he still looked as stunning as she remembered. Her cheeks turned red when she remembered all the stuff she had daydreamed. 

“Oh, man!” Anne exclaimed through her fit of laughter, making Bailey turn to her instead. “You know, I never met a clumsier dude.”

“You- you know him?”

“Who? Barry? Yeah, I know him, he comes here all the time on weekends.”

“Barry,” Bailey repeated with a small smile, looking back at his flushed face. She finally knew a name that belonged to that handsome dorky man.


	9. Shopping mall

Birthday gifts were the worst. Bailey always wanted to surprise everyone with some awesome gifts and original ideas but every time, she ended up buying books. The easier choice, always the easier choice. 

This time around, she was really hoping it would change. She had given those gifts a lot of though, when she occasionally wasn’t thinking of Barry, that was. Her crush returned at an alarming speed. She hadn’t gotten around to actually talk to him, she was still trying to gather enough mental strength to do that, but at least she now knew where to look for him. Anne, the good friend she was, told her all she knew about Barry Allen, all about his studies of forensic science and all the awkward things he had done. It was really something. The man really was clumsy but Bailey found it adorable.

Her legs were starting to hurt as she browsed yet another shop in the massive shopping mall. She had been there for few hours and there was still ton of shops to visit. 

Bailey decided she needed a break, or her legs needed a break. She was really pushing her limits in those uncomfortable shoes. They were stylish, yes, but god did she have to suffer. 

The bench came into the view and dear lord, it was empty. She did her best not to run for it like some fool. She wasn’t some old frail woman that needed to rest every few minutes, this was pathetic, she had to keep a part of her dignity intact. 

Bliss. Pure bliss. She closed her eyes momentarily as her energy was revived. She pushed her head back, resting it on the bench. When she opened her eyes, Bailey found that the ceiling was actually made of huge windows. It made sense, with how bright the whole mall was. 

She was resting and watching the clouds pass by when she noticed a dark speck approaching. She wondered if there was any airport nearby, but it could always be a private one or from hospital. She decided not to give it much thought as she basked in the warm sunlight that poured all over her. 

Something, a bad feeling, paranoia, made her look up. She had been through enough shit to know that something was wrong. The speck wasn’t a speck no more, it was larger and… approaching. It was approaching the windows and rather quickly. 

Bailey took her bags and slowly stood up, not letting her gaze drift away from the tall windows directly above her. 

It was so close, whatever it was, it wasn’t a plane or a bird, she could almost make out the shape. It was- it was a human. And behind it another dark spot, approaching fast, if faster than the first one. 

With a wave of horror, she realized several things. One, something almost catastrophic was about to go down. Two, she was right at the epicenter of it all if she didn’t move quickly. Three, it must have been a metahuman and finally, the other spot that she could now make out as red and blue, was indeed Superman. And where there was Superman, there was a great danger. He didn’t deal with some petty muggers.

A loud bang came sooner than she expected but the glass didn’t break just yet. With a scream, Bailey run for cover, alerting others to what was to come. Panic spread immediately. 

It didn’t matter that most of the people had no idea what was going on, all that mattered was that people were shouting and running and throwing themselves to the ground. 

The glass broke with a loud bang, sending the deadly sharp shards to the ground where people were running. Bailey was far enough for the glass to miss her but as the attacker was thrown to the ground with Superman landing on him, she was thrown forward from the sheer force of their landing. 

Her chin and chest hurt terribly as she tried to get a sense of what was going on around her. She still had bags in her hands and as she was falling, she threw her hands in front of her on an instinct, unfortunately that made her land on the full bags. 

She blinked through the pain, seeing dark dots. She managed to roll to her back, the new position allowing her to see what was around her. 

At that moment, Bailey wished she had never opened her eyes for there was a scalding hot red ray coming right at her. She could already feel its heat on her pale face.


	10. This is it

In that split second, Bailey realized that there was no way even Superman could stop his heat vision fast enough. This was how she would go. The last seconds of her life. Her life didn’t flash in front of her eyes, not at all. Her mind was clear, there was nothing but death in her mind. Just emptiness and acceptance. This was it.

Or not. One second she was facing her doom and the second she was lying on the soft grass, staring at the passing clouds once again. Her arms were outstretched on her sides, her hair wild all around her, she was… dead? 

She didn’t feel like dead, but then again, she had no idea how being dead felt like. She wasn’t weightless or walking towards the light, if anything, her ribs still hurt like hell. She wouldn’t feel pain if she was dead, right?

The ray never reached her.

Something, someone saved her. Someone fast enough to top even Superman himself. The only thing that could happen. Someone saved her. Her. Bailey – the ordinary human. She was worth saving, she was worth the time and effort it took. There were so many people but it was her who was saved. It meant something. It meant so much.

Finally, someone cared, even if it was just by chance, but she was so close to death. She was face to face with the death but nevertheless someone saved her. The person could think she was beyond saving, seconds from dying, but they didn’t.

Bailey laughed, she was saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, the end! I always intended for this to be just a short story but I am glad you liked it nevertheless! Thanks for all the support, it means the world to me. :)


End file.
